everybody's watching you now
by TetheredHeartz
Summary: AU College "He used to be a big shot." Witnessing some big things happening Rachel's forced to go into a little hiding, in Columbus. The new Rachel isn't going to let this acting opportunity down.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee**

**I'm back with a new story and you all will be super excited to hear that the epilogue to Miss Rachel will be out this week. I'm about ninety percent finished with it. I want to make sure it's fantastic for all of you. Until than enjoy my new story. Here's the prologue. Enjoy!**

**_Without the help of joyofrediscoveringyou who has published Cabin Fever (check it out under my favorites, so good!), I was able to produce my newest story. Thanks so much for looking over this!_**

**Prologue:**

"Princess!" Hiram Berry called throughout the small family's apartment waiting to hear back from his beautiful daughter or loud husband. Footsteps, small and soft padding through the hallway as his daughter approached him, his only baby now at the tender age of eighteen. Standing tall with all sixty two inches of her greeting him with a hug.

"How was your day daddy?" She smiles pulling him into the kitchen where he drops off his briefcase, as she gives him his afternoon tea. Leaning across the counter she beams at when he licks his lips. One of his many ways of showing how much he enjoys something.

"Oh you know, just another day answering phones." He sips on his drink watching his only daughter move her purse farther onto her shoulder along with a book bag. "Where are you going?"

"I'm thinking of maybe going to the library to get a little ahead on some of my studying. My film class I've scheduled for my first semester seems to have a lot of reading. But first I'm going to the jewelry shop to see if they can't fix my necklace, I was in the shower last night when I accidentally got my washrag caught on to my chain. I'm hoping they'll be able to give me a new one with my warranty or bend the chain to fix it."

"Oh no babydoll, the chain your nana gave you last year for Hanukkah?" Hiram frowned, Rachel nodding. "Well just call me when you get out of there maybe me and your father can meet you for dinner and one of your favorite places."

"Sounds like a plan, but I'm still stopping at the library so I'll call you around six thirty and we'll go from there." Leaning down she gives a father a kiss on the cheek.

"Promise me you won't strain your brain too much angel, you've got about another two weeks before school starts." He called out as she smiles with the front door open.

"It's NYADA daddy." She blows another kiss, closing the door behind her. Stepping out on to the streets of the Upper East Side Rachel hails a taxi, taking her down to one of her favorite shops that so happened to be her nana's as well. Taking in the city as she passed each taxi, each person. It was home, no other city would compare to the feeling she she received walking down the streets or passing in taxis.

The taxi stopped on the street corner, fifteen dollars and some odd cents flashing and Rachel paid in full. Shutting the door behind her, Rachel clasped her purse close to her body opening the door to the nearly dead shop. Greeted by an older man Rachel placed her purse on top of the counter pulling out her necklace.

"Is there anyway you could look up the warranty on this necklace, I still have the gift receipt." She explained showing the breakage to the man who looked at it closely before grabbing the paper from her. His eyes hard and cold when he looks at her, almost feeling a little uncomfortable Rachel tugs a smile to break the tension. Though he just glares at her, eyes forcing from outside to her.

"Be right back, I'm going to go check our records." His voice wavering as he gives her those same glances, disappearing behind the wall. Not really knowing what his deal was for he had helped Rachel quite a few times when she came by. Deciding that maybe he's just having an off day she waits for him by looking around the shop for possibilities for her own fathers birthday coming up, maybe a nice watch that's he's been hinting at for the past few months.

Noticing a man dressed in what looked to be a leather jacket and white pants Rachel smiled politely walking past him. He didn't smile back and now Rachel knew the air was off today in the city. Sure New Yorkers weren't the most polite human species but none were this rude. Making her rounds through the circle of all kinds of accessories Rachel wished the man would hurry up, not wanting to be there all day. Glancing over her shoulder the leather jacket man was standing in a corner hands in his pockets, just standing there.

Something didn't feel right. Rachel knew something wasn't right or maybe her paranoia was getting the best of her. Fiddling with her purse Rachel begins to feel impatient and anxious. Moving closer to the edge of the counter Rachel tried to catch a glimpse of the man.

"Excuse me sir!" She calls and the man behind her clears his throat. Things did not feel right at all. "Sir, I've changed my mind. I think I'm just going to have to come back, somethings come up where I need to leave."

Nothing.

"Sir, may I please have my charm necklace back please." Her heart starts to pound her ears when the older man doesn't answer her. A shuffling noise comes from her side, the man from behind her slides over the counter dropping loudly to the floor beside her. The only thing separating them was the glass, Rachel now noticing the majority of the jewelry missing.

Backing up Rachel reaches her hands out for the door, the man keeping an eye on her as he goes towards the back of the room. A hand staying in his jacket's pocket keeping all eyes on Rachel as he peeks an eye into the back.

Her eyes pick up his clutch on something and surely he's not allowed access to anything behind the counter. The man cannot work there, simply not dressed for the part at all. Rachel knew she had to get out of there.

"Please just tell him I'll come back for my necklace." Her voice trying to hide any nerves she may be feeling or showing. Placing a large smile on her face Rachel goes to collect her purse but the man wasn't having it. His gun slams on the counter, startling Rachel as she grasps her heart. Words start stuttering from her mouth, fumbling with trying to find the right things to say. "Please... I have no clue to who you are. I won't tell, I can walk out of here now with no recognition to anything I've been engaged with."

The man twists his mouth to the side grabbing the gun,taking the safety off. Rachel braces herself as she's seen movies where woman in her situation didn't have a happy ending.

"Who the fuck is she?" Someone comes out of the back room, dragging a body, the man who had helped her with the charm necklace.

What did she walk into?

"Some chick who walked in, what should we do with her?" The leather jacket man mumbles staring at her though his dark beady eyes. Rachel's heart was thumping out of her throat just like her stomach. The man bleeding out onto the floor and it's then that she see's a hand poking out from the opening to go behind the counter.

Rachel was going to die.

"Please." She begs closing her eyes tightly, tears springing to her eyes. "I won't say anything."

Backing up just the slightest when their eyes shifted from her to one another, Rachel took the advantage by sprinting backwards reaching for the door. The bells rang signaling to the men that she was in fact leaving. Her heart thumps to her ears making it hard to hear anything other than blood rushing through her body. The guns raised aiming for her, Rachel springs to the open door. Her feet pounded on the pavement as her small legs tried to take her as far away from the shop as possible.

Looking back she doesn't see anyone running after her, not taking her chances she runs into traffic stopping any taxi. Ignoring the yelling and the honking coming from behind the taxi Rachel could see the pissed off look on the taxi driver's face as she pointed to the back seat, hopping into the back.

The driver was speechless until Rachel nearly banged on the glass separating the both of them.

"Sixty seventh street between 3rd and Lex." Rachel tries to calm her breathing, ducking down into the taxi when they pass the jewelry store. She couldn't see anyone in there as they slowly pass with the streams of transportation on the streets.

The middle eastern driver looks back at her, eyebrows raised as if questioning her reason for going there but doesn't say anything.

Rachel knew exactly what she had to do with her information.**  
**

**Authors Note On Top!**


	2. 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee**

**Hey guys! I'm slowly getting my grove back for writing, this is so exciting. Check on 'When Lightning Strikes' I am so excited for that one as well! **

**Huge thanks to joyofrediscoveringyou for editing this and for everything else you've done! You're awesome!**

"What are you trying to tell me?"

Rachel grips her seat, really not wanting to show herself in a police office, but when they gave her a sullen look she wanted to go over and swipe it off their faces. Walking through these doors may have been the biggest mistake she could have ever made.

"Look Miss. Berry you were caught in a heist of one of the mobs in New York City, we have been trying to catch these fools for three years now! You are our key witness out of the twenty or so places they've hit up. You are the break we've been waiting for Rachel."

"I don't want to be some mouse in this chase!" She points her eyes at them "You must be sorely mistaken if you think I'm going to risk my own future to help you catch these criminals. I have my own life I have to live, I start my dreams in a couple weeks!"

"Miss Berry I don't think you understand the severity of the situation you are in. You said you left your belongings in with them, we had our team go to check and they were gone. Rachel they have your purse, they have your ID, they have everything of yours that they need to make sure you're taken care of." His coffee stained teeth in front of her face as two other detectives are staring down at her, chomping on their gum. The lights low as they all sit in the chief's office for what seemed like hours.

"Taken care of?" Her fathers voice squeaks just thinking of all the possible conclusions to that one statement.

"Taken care of." The one in the back with the greasy hair pops his gum before frantically chewing on it nods. Rachel's stomach twists in knots, picturing herself being hunted down by one of New York's own mobs.

"What does this mean for us?" Leroy Berry questions standing up from one of the chairs next to his daughter. "We obviously can't stay here in New York if they have our information."

"That is correct." The seemed to be useless man who gave them a smirk, popped his gum as Rachel tightened her grip on the chair.

"Look can you please just explain to me what is going to happen. Am I going to have to have people following me around when I go to school? Will we have to go stay at a hotel until they're caught? I just don't understand how we're going to stay away from them unless I'm under protection everyday all day. I can't just have people hanging around me in school..."

"We have it all under control. For the safety of your fathers, yourself and those around you we've had to bring in the officials."

"You are the officials!" Rachel huffed running her hands over her face. "Can you please just spit it out, I didn't ask for any of this. I don't want to be involved in any of this."

"If this didn't threaten your safety you would be able to leave this station with your testament but your life is at danger Rachel. They are coming after you with a vengeance. They know you know what they look like and what they did." Chief De Luca sits on the edge of the desk looking down on Rachel. "You have no other choice than to join the Witness Protection Program, all three of you together. It must happen today, immediately after this conversation is finished. If you want want any chance of living your life fully than you need to take our help. Without it you'll be prey to one of New York's most dangerous gangs."

"If you have my description and you know who the hell is terrorizing this city then you need to do something about it!" Rachel yells scooting to the edge of her seat. "I don't understand why you can't catch them and place them behind bars. I have two weeks before school begins, I can go into hiding and you can do your damn job to get them caught!"

"Rachel!" Hiram gasped turning to her "You watch your language this instant!"

"This is so frustrating!" She stood pacing the floor "They are expecting me to place my dreams on hold because they aren't able to catch a criminal. Maybe if they would have been doing their job, since they've known about this gang for years, I wouldn't have had a gun pointed to my face! I wouldn't be in this predicament now, would I?"

"We aren't telling you that you'll never be able to return." One of the men in the back comments "We just need to be able to do our job without anyone else getting hurt, you included."

"We need to stay away until we're cleared to come back. Having our names and being out in public as ourselves with a gang after us isn't what we want." Leroy tried making sense of everything by saying it aloud. "Angel, NYADA will be there tomorrow, we might not if we stay here."

"You have to understand that they will come after you. They will kill you when they have you cornered. The protection program is your only chance to come back when this is all over with." The chief tries reasoning with Rachel one last time to stress how important this is.

"It's taken you three years to get your witness since they've started their sprees. What if it takes another five years to catch them? How am I supposed to be reassured that you'll get this done so I can get back to my life here in New York?" Rachel stands behind her father staring at the police. Her eyebrows raise, testing them. "I want to make sure my life will go back to normal, that these people will get off the streets and rotting in jail where they deserve to be. "

"We will Miss Berry we just need to know that you'll cooperate and stay in our program. Without you, we have no witnesses to make our case stronger."

Looking down at her fathers who she didn't want to put in danger, but this was their only opportunity at the time. To survive they needed to be somewhere safe. For a short time things just needed to go a different way, somewhere out of her own control.

"This better not be for too long." She mumbles, giving in.

"You won't regret this."

**XXXXX.**

Finding out that your home had been raided wasn't the cherry to the topping of her week at all. As all three of them were promised, the agents had gone to their home in hopes of grabbing some clothes and belongings to take with them while under protection but not to the agents surprise, the apartment had already been searched.

Rachel didn't understand that if the possibility to a raid was likely, why they didn't stake out the place and catch those damn fools. Instead, their apartment was trashed and a nice message left from them claiming they'd get what they were seeking. Rachel wasn't a rocket scientist but to figure out that what they wanted was no witnesses and out for blood, was a no brainer. So being transported completely out of the state and into Pennsylvania was a little relieving.

Laying in the hotel bed a few night later Rachel watches her father in their own reading over the many of folders they were given just the day before. They were hiding away in a hotel room guarded with security until their private plane left the next morning.

Laying there she rolls over with her hands behind her head watching them read over each new thing for their new identity.

"I don't look like a Frank." Leroy announces scrunching his nose as his glasses bunched up. "I just don't see the name Frank fitting for me. Frank reminds me of some jock back in high school who played baseball. I am not a Frank, I'm a Leroy a black man who sang theater."

"Yeah well tell me how stereotypical it is for my name to be Adam as if my nose didn't scream Jewish enough."

Rachel hated having to put her fathers through this all because the NYPD couldn't do their job in catching fugitives that have been doing crime spree after crime spree, throughout most of greater New York City. They had a life here as well, friends and now they were going to have to leave what they've been comfortable around for most of their lives to go into hiding under a new identity. It just wasn't fair. She lays in bed and thinks of how she could have been preparing to move into her new dorm room rather than moving to a whole new state, one she still didn't know and without the knowledge of where she would be living.

Just her luck as of right now, they'd probably send them to Wisconsin.

Sighing, Rachel reaches over and turns to night light off signaling to her fathers she was going to try to catch some sleep.

"It's not the end of the world pumpkin. Sure this is a major inconvenience but think of it as a script you have to memorize, a character biography if you must." Hiram smiled over her glasses peering at his daughter. "We are just thankful you are alive and we have to opportunity to protect ourselves. Once this is all over with we will be back to our normal lives in New York. Until then let's put our best skills forward and play this as a new play you're auditioning for."

"Yes daddy." Rachel tried to smile and think positively based on what he said but it's kind of hard not to think about auditioning for real at NYADA.

******Authors Note On Top!**


End file.
